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CONGRATULATIONS to Datuk Lee Chong Wei for winning the men's singles title of the centennial edition of the All England. Thanks, too, to Datuk Misbun Sidek for guiding his protégé to win the coveted title. You not only make the nation proud but saved the blushes of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) for the under-achievements all these years.

Poor performance by players from BAM stable at the recent All England is a cause for concern.

The reason may be due to the recent "hoo-haa" created by BAM.

That "feel-good feeling" to win matches deserted the players and they did nothing right on the court but to earn the early exits.

In contrast, the double's pairs of Chong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Gan Teik Chai-Tan Bin Shen, despite playing without coaches, performed creditably to reach the quarter-finals.

They enjoyed their games while remaining focused. This is a crucial year for BAM with major tournaments to contend with.

Next in line are the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup championships (May 9-16) followed by the World Championships (Aug 23-29), the Commonwealth Games (Oct 3-14) and the Asian Games (Nov 13-21).

If BAM hopes for success not only in the Thomas Cup/Uber Cup but also other tournaments that can act as a build-up to winning the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic, it must stop blaming the players and coaches for shortcomings.

Second, appoint a local ex-international as director of coaching while roping in a few badminton brains -- people who talk and think on the same wavelength as the players and coaches to understand their problems and needs -- to sit on BAM's coaching and training committee.

The most appropriate time for BAM to evaluate its performance will be at the end of the year, after the conclusion of the Asian Games. This will be the time for BAM to execute its plan, to trim the squad and terminate the contracts of non-performing coaches.

"Passengers" in BAM itself must do the honourable thing, all for the good of badminton.

The chairman of BAM is the current chairman of Proton Holdings, which owns the national car company Proton as well as the Lotus car company (a famous racing car maker based in the UK). Full health coverage is one of the many free perks top CEOs are given.

BA of Malaysia (BAM) president Datuk Nadzmi Salleh has denied speculation that P. Ganga Rao has been suspended as the association's secretary.

However, Nadzmi said any changes in the association's set-up will only be made after the Thomas Cup Finals in May.

Nadzmi said Ganga remains BAM secretary and has been asked to focus on preparations for the Thomas Cup Finals.

"There is no suspension and we want Ganga to focus on the preparations for the Thomas Cup. He is still the BAM secretary and there is no change in that," said Nadzmi when contacted by telephone yesterday.

He was at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport as he will be in Germany for a month for medical treatment.

"Any internal changes will only be made after the Thomas Cup Finals. We all want to focus on the Thomas Cup and as of now, there will not be any changes."

Nadzmi confirmed he met Ganga yesterday but didn't elaborate on what transpired during the meeting.

However, Ganga said he had two meetings with Nadzmi yesterday, stating that the latter denied the suspension.

"The president denied that he suspended me and there is no official letter. Since it was speculation, he said it is not necessary for him to make an official clarification," said Ganga.

"Our discussion was on the Thomas Cup and he has also asked me to assist the deputy president Tengku Kamal Ismail (Tengku Idris Shah) in preparations during his absence.

"I didn't feel it (the suspension) happened as the executive council members would have come to know if there was such a decision. It has also nothing to do with the (ING) sponsorship.

"In fact, I decided to slow down in December. If there is a suitable candidate to replace me, I'm willing to make way."

BAM President is also CEO/Chairman of Proton lah. He suffered a stroke late last year.

You mean BAM President or Ganga Rao ? Rumor has it(in malay press) that there were moves to try & replace the President, now he's sick.

But politics, politics, as usual

I meant the secretary general P. Ganga Rao. If not mistaken, Datuk Nadjmi is a sweeper and Ganga is the trouble maker. Have you noticed the replacement for proton by Ing since the AE10. Rumour has it it was done without the approval of the president and proton is making noise now.

Of course politics get in the way at BAM. But there is nothing wrong with politics if they are not politics from the government but only involve the management of BAM.
Any sports association have to be involved in "politics" provided they are not of a governmental nature. Otherwise, you will be too dependent on the government for funds to run your association. When governments give out too much money they want to have a say, which means political interference.
That is why sports associations will have to get a larger percent of their funds on their own with just a little from the government.
Sponsorships is thus a major source. The man at the top should be given the sole responsibilty to secure such funding. Others in BAM are there to assist him or her. If the president of BAM were to delegate this important responsibilty to his subordinate then why elect him as a president?
BTW, a secretary or a treasurer should have no business in soliciting funding, as it could lead to conflict of interest especially if the treasurer is involved.

By K.M. Boopathy
YESTERDAY'S announcement of Proton as the title sponsor of the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil on May 9-16 has effectively ended the wrangle between Proton Holdings Berhad and ING Insurance Berhad.

The BA of Malaysia (BAM) had replaced the logo of Proton on the front of the T-shirts worn by the national shuttlers with ING in February after the association struck a deal with the new sponsor.

Proton, which has been the Rakan Sukan (Partner in Sports) of BAM since 1995, then demanded that its logo be reinstated in the original position and yesterday's announcement in Shah Alam put a stop to the issue.

Proton Holdings group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the national car manufacturer is looking forward to a successful Thomas and Uber Cup campaign and also pledged support to BAM in the coming years.

"The matter (regarding the logo) has been resolved and that's why we are having our launch as the title sponsor of the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.

"It is also a special occasion as we are also celebrating our 25th anniversary this year," said Syed Zainal.

"The opportunity to be the title sponsor of one of sport's most prestigious tournaments is a perfect branding exercise and we are honoured to be associated with world class players.

"Our support to badminton is an avenue for us to give back to the people and nation.

"We have so much confidence in the sport and believe that BAM has done a great job in elevating it to the international level."

The tournament website -- www.thomasuberkl2010.com -- was also launched while BAM received the official vehicles from Proton.

Organising committee chairman and BAM executive council member Datuk Al Amin Majid, who represented the association in the absence of president Datuk Nadzmi Salleh, did not elaborate on the ING issue and spoke more on the Thomas Cup preparations.

Al Amin said BAM is confident of staging another successful Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.

"As for the sponsorship issue, the matter has been resolved.

"As for the preparations, we are on target to host another successful event again," said Al Amin.

That, however, doesn't explain what will happen to the ING sponsorship, said to be worth almost RM2 million.

It is learnt the deal hasn't been signed and with Nadzmi having sacked secretary P. Ganga Rao on Monday, chances are it won't.

If future potential sponsor read the last 2 lines, maybe end up wouldnt sponsor, not with the embarassment ING encountered, not with Proton there at least.
ING sponsorship supposed to be RM2 mil, Proton RM2.5 mil. I wonder if there's a rule that other sponsors cannot sponsor more than Proton for Proton for be main.

Datuk NaZmi have to explain to his superiors in regards to the Sponsorship issue on why ING in the picture. Not that he opposes ING. Just that when Ganga secured the deal, in a way it did shows that somehow someone is not doing their duty. Being sponsored by Proton or ING is good. But at the end of the day BAM need money to support it's operation and player etc.. And being a sponsor or even person in Charge.. Payment like prize money and other operation costs must not delay. Someone have to bring the dollars in. I wouldn't say what Ganga did is wrong.. But not informing the president in a way is not appropiate. People inside BAM have their own agendas. They are not even working well as a team. The President also have many roles.. Being the Proton Chairman is also not an easy job. He also have to look after Protons interest in BAM as well.

If future potential sponsor read the last 2 lines, maybe end up wouldnt sponsor, not with the embarassment ING encountered, not with Proton there at least.
ING sponsorship supposed to be RM2 mil, Proton RM2.5 mil. I wonder if there's a rule that other sponsors cannot sponsor more than Proton for Proton for be main.

I am surprised that BAM and ING has landed themselves in such a mess. Any sponsorship contract is always in writing that is legally binding, and lawyers of both sides must have combed through every word and their legal implications.
Normally, only the chairman or the president has the executive power to sign major contracts. A secretary or a treasurer is never on the executive board with executive power. They are merely administrators to handle paper work and procedural matters for all the executive members, in particular the president or the chairman. That is why these two positions can be contracted out to accounting firms. On the other hand executive members are elected and are not hired from accounting firms.
All these are usually found in the BAM constitutuon.
ING should have found out who in particular in the BAM has the authority to sign or for that matter to begin negotiating any potential sponsorship deal. If a person in BAM, who is not so authorised to do so by its constitution, signs the deal then the deal is null and void. However, ING may have a case against the unauthorised person in BAM who signed the deal.
I believe in the constitution of the BAM the president has the sole power to appoint or to fire its secretary. If so then there is no case.
But then serious questions arise as to BAM's management. How did it allow such things to get out of hand? Why did ING not deal directly with the sole man who has the power to agree to any new sponsorship instead of working behind the scene?